Sound City – What a cross-section of rock n’ roll history. Dave Grohl is cool for putting this together.

Searching for Sugar Man – This is a crazy story about how music can transcend time and borders, and save the artists like it saves the listener.

It Might Get Loud – I wouldn’t list any of these guys in my favorites as far as guitarists go… but this was a damn good movie. I mean, Jimmy Page is Jimmy Page. How can you not respect his body of work?

Beware of Mr. Baker – Fabulous just because Ginger is a wild man. Maybe even a wild animal in a man’s body.

The Punk Syndrome – Finland has some cool-ass social programs, one that gave us Pertti Kurikan Nimipäivät. Follow a punk rock band formed by cats with Autism and Down Syndrome and realize that their struggles are a whole lot like yours.

Filmage – ALL gets such a bad rap. Ha ha. I really enjoyed this story.

Mission to Lars – Less about being in the band, more about fandom & brotherly love.

What other ones do you like? I am sure I have missed a few. I liked that one Rush doc, I need to catch all of it. I caught the end on VH1 way back. Bonus points if these docs are “free” on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.

Like this:

Narrator: “Up next on Guitar Hoarders; Jim, 48, a self-professed ‘Blues Lawyer’ from Oaklahoma is going through a divorce due to his recent failure to remove 27 partscasters from his bathroom, leaving his soon-to-be-ex-wife to do her business in the rose bushes out back.”

Narrator: “Jim’s wife, Tonya, thought the rented apartment two towns over was for another woman, but it was way worse than she could have imagined. It was full of Chibsons and falsely advertised ‘Lawsuit Era’ LP copies that were actually nothing of the sort.”

Tonya: “I wish his browser history had said PornHub or RedTube, but no… it was all Reverb, eBay, ShopGoodwill, Craigslist, and the lowest of the low… local & national guitar forums on Facebook!

Don’t even get me started on LetGo and OfferUp. I wish I had found Tinder or even Grinder. That, I could deal with.”

Narrator: “Tonya did at least see a bright side to all of the madness.”

Tonya: “I mean, I guess at least it wasn’t Reddit.”

Jim: “I guess I don’t need that many guitars. I mean, I don’t get to play as often as I like. Most of my time is spent online explaining to n00bz how tone wood makes a huge difference, why I think Gibson is overrated and how they have gone downhill, the best types of wood for a fretboard, you know… the important stuff. There are some real idiots out there. How can you have fun if you’re not getting the best possible tone from your fingers?”

Narrator: “Jim is seemingly unaware that he has a problem.”

Jim: “GAS? No, never heard of it. Wait, is that the psychobilly jam-band that plays every open stage night at Free Beer Tomorrow over in Tulsa? No?

Anyway, did you know that Slash’s Les Paul that he used on Appetite for Destructionwasn’t even a Gibson? And now they endorse him? I mean. If you don’t know that, you shouldn’t even be allowed to play Guitar Hero.”

Tonya: “I’m currently living with my sister. Her husband plays the bass, so he can’t afford to have a hoarding problem.”

Jim: “That guy? He doesn’t even know the difference between active and passive pickups. Heh.”

Narrator: “At this time, Jim refuses counseling. He thinks they can work it out.”

Jim: “I was teaching her how to play, but Mel Bay is so dumb. We re-started with a ‘Top 50 riffs of all time’article form an old guitar magazine out of my pile. I mean, there are only 8 notes, right? Or is it 12?

I was trying to tell these guys at the county fair that they were playing the riff for ‘Lay Down Sally’ wrong, but you just can’t tell some people things. I have a tabographic memory. That’s where you can instantly remember every guitar tab that you have ever seen.”

🎸

TLC, I have another TV show for you. This is a comment from a guitar group gone awry because I amuse myself way too much. Who wants to do a YouTube sketch comedy show for a very specific audience?

Like this:

The song “Degenerated” from the movie Airheads is one of my all-time favorites. If you’re a fan of the movie, you no-doubt know the song. And if you’re a music nerd in general, you probably know that it’s a Reagan Youth cover. I would love to know more about the song. I have collected most of the “who,” but I would love to know the “why.”

Check out the two songs and then we’ll get into why I have so many questions & what they are.

OK, here are the players involved from the information that I gathered on Wikipedia, IMDB, Discogs, & wherever else I clicked;

Jay Yuenger and Sean Yseult of White Zombie fame played on the recording of the song, with Brendan Fraser on vocals. (Seriously, that bass part so damn awesome, & the guitar solo is blistering. Sean & Jay both really rocked it.)

Who decided to use the song? The director, the music guy, the writer, the musicians?

Why that song? The running joke about Chazz writing the song for his girlfriend or before he met her makes it even funnier because I wouldn’t remotely call it a love song. Did someone just really like the song? Was licensing cheap all around? Did they ask Paul Cripple for permission? What does he think of the song? Did Dave Insurgent ever get to hear it?

Why metal up a punk rock song? They seemed like an 80’s holdover kind of band. Was it a statement on Grunge being a punk n’ metal hybrid?

Why are there different chord changes? The chord progression is different, but the melody (and I use the term loosely) is the same. The cover may be tuned below standard if I remember correctly? Someone more musically versed may be able to explain the difference I just know when playing by ear on guitar they’re totally different progressions.

Why the lyric change?( I assume to keep the movie rated PG-13?) Most notably a removal of the F-word and references to constipation (Lone Rangers Lyrics/Reagan Youth Lyrics). Who made the changes?

Who played drums? Jay, Sean, Bryan, or were there other uncredited musicians?

I just really dig both versions of the song, the movie, and that it led me to checking out more Reagan Youth. Is it weird to be a fan of a song by a fictional band? Hey, I dig “Three Small Words” too, and that was produced by Babyface.

Do you like either version of this song? Do you have a song by a fictional band that you really dig? Do you know any of the relevant information here? Let me know in the comments!

…and check out this incredible entire live show! Apparently all these cats ever left was one EP & a handful of performances. Their guitars have so many strings, it takes 12 parsecs for any non-force user to make their way across the fretboard.

I did download all I could form MySpace, but all I could get of some of the stuff was some snippets of songs. Their interpretations are proggy, masterful, eerie, and dark. I would love to get my hands on the EP.

Obviously, these scruffy-looking Nerf Herders rock too. The costumes and video production are all-out. The metal seems happier if that’s even a thing. They used kickstarter to fund their eventual takeover of the galaxy. Galactic credits go far with the Empire. I’m anxious for their full-length album, too.

It looks like of the two, these guys are the only ones currently in existence.

Vote for Your Favorite:

I would love to see a fan mix of the movies using either of these guys to score the entire thing. I don’t think Disney would go for it, unless like Darth Lucas they realize they can make more money by selling the movies again to the same people that already own all possible formats & variations.

This is just for physical media. I didn’t even look into streaming. I get that not everyone is set up to stream and that some people (myself included) like to put their hands on physical tangible media.

Who has a working VCR? OK. I do, but I’m odd. It’s a VCR/DVD-recorder, and someday I will transfer all of my VHS tapes to DVD (which is already a dead format). Who is still watching video tapes? I mean, watching the old 4:3 aspect ratio drives me nuts these days.

What do you need that badly that costs $3? This wouldn’t be worth the gas money or the bus fair to meet someone to make the sale.

I have been strapped for cash, but never would think to list what essentially amounts to garbage for a negligible value on a Facebook flea market group. If this sells, I really have a lot of stuff that I need to be listing for under $5 amounts.

Besides being awesome new (to me) enjoyable punk rock, I feel like it served as some sort of cosmic reminder, warning, or inspiration. Not only to me, but to everyone who happens to read this.

Not feeling a bunch of paragraphs today, so I will hit you with a bulleted list.

Don’t ever let anyone tell you “no.” Don’t let anyone else set your limits. You can do whatever you set your mind to, and tell them to shove it.

Don’t let anyone put you in a category. If you feel like you’re different because of your gender, race, orientation, religion, or a disability… own it, don’t let it own you.

A little railing against convention, society, or any set standard is good for everybody. Punk rock can be all about a healthy expression of primal aggression.

Learning about the lives of others who have things differently than you is incredibly enlightening.

Someone with special needs like Down Syndrome or Autism with different abilities ought not be an object of derision. They have thoughts, feelings, and aspirations just like you. They get pissed off just like you. They rock just like yo

Shattering expectations is the most badass thing you can do.

I’m sure there’s more, but you get my point. Notice little things like this in life. Be thankful for your insight. Be thankful that there are others out there reminding you to put forth your best effort. Learn something or learn about something often. Make some noise that gets heard.